Inside Pitch: 2022 Extra Elite 100 Standout Dee McClarity… “My Recruiting Journey”

Texas Tech-bound slugger Madison “Dee” McClarity is one of the most decorated players in the country after helping Hotshots Premier-Nelson win championships at Top Club National, Southwest Nationals, USA Softball GOLD Nationals and PGF 16U Premier Nationals.

McClarity, #49 in the 2022 Extra Elite 100, is one of the driving forces for Sachse High in Texas, Hotshots Premier 18U-Nelson, and she will be an Extra Inning Softball blogger this season.

McClarity talked about her recruiting journey, COVID-19 and how she ended up signing with Texas Tech for her first blog of 2022.

Close your eyes and listen to what 52 homeruns sounds like! @StriveSoftball @FloSoftball @ExtraInningSB @Los_Stuff @IHartFastpitch @rickcowan68 @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/zTYqUrRiil

— Dee🥎McClarity2022 (@DeeMcClarity_8) July 21, 2020

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Everyone’s recruitment process is very different, as a 2022 I’ve had many abnormal things happen throughout my journey. It started out normal; I was a 13-year-old girl going to different camps to try and find out where I fit. Many people around me had already found their future homes and it only pushed me further to try and find mine. That fall I had gone to over thirteen camps and still was lost on where I wanted to go. I had my favorites, yes, but it all came down to where coach actually wanted me.

Fast forward two years later and I’ve finally started to get an idea of where I want to commit. There had been talk about recruitment rules changing, but I never thought it would have happened. Recruiting had been the same for years. It didn’t matter your age, if you were a good athlete and the coach wanted you, you were ready to make the huge commitment. So now, being so close to where I had wanted to be since I was a little girl, having that taken away from me was heartbreaking.

I battled with that for a while. Having to wait after being so close to the finish line just seemed so unappealing. The older I got the more I started to realize I had more opportunities to focus on my craft during that time and not which coach was in the stands. I felt it was actually very beneficial to my career. There was less stress and more focus on my personal opinion of how I was performing. I had also seen how the early committing had negatively affected some of my friends/teammates around me which helped me feel more certain about what was happening. So, for the next two years I played my game and waited for my turn to complete the recruitment process.

During that two-year wait I was met with another challenging obstacle to overcome. COVID-19 had created havoc through every aspect of my life. Softball came to a standstill, and I was constantly trying to find things to do. I missed my friends and my teammates and just wanted to get back on the dirt. Most of my time during quarantine was spent trying to stay in shape and be ready when everything was okay again. So, I worked daily and tried to make the best of the time I had to spend in my house.

After a while of patiently waiting everything started to slowly go back to normal. I got to do what I loved again and couldn’t be happier. Coaches started to be able to watch us play again (virtually of course) and recruitment started up once more. After losing my sophomore high school softball season, I was so excited to get to play my junior year. I made the most of every game knowing that just like last year it could be gone in an instant.

Summer season was filled with the accomplishment of several goals and my team was able to win several national championships leading up to September 1. We had performed our best and earned the reward of calling ourselves champions. We were all looking forward to seeing how our on-field success was viewed by the coaches who were preparing to recruit us. Around this time, we were notified that COVID-19 had dealt the 2022 class yet another blow. There were not going to be any permitted on-campus visits during the recruitment period. This meant that prospective student athletes would be faced with building relationships with coaches through virtual campus tours and Zoom meeting recruiting conversations. This made it even more challenging to get a feel for what campus and staff felt like home.

After three long years I was finally getting to the conclusion of my recruiting process. It took me around a week to finally make my decision and throughout that week I had a lot of guidance from my travel team coach and parents. Texas Tech University would be my home for the next four years and I couldn’t be happier. My parents, friends, and teammates all congratulated me and made the experience even more memorable. I was so grateful for everyone that had helped me, from the moment I started this amazing sport to the moment I said yes to my future Coach.

Five days later I was given news that made my heart drop. My college coach that just committed me had resigned. I was so devastated. Something that I had waited so long to have behind me was now left up in the air for the new coach to address. All of the calm and confidence that I had with my decision had eroded away. After a month of waiting, the new head coach was announced at Texas Tech. After the announcement was made she contacted me the same day. I was so happy with the hiring decision because I was already familiar with her. We had talked on the phone previously during my recruitment process, which reassured me that she already knew what type of player I was and had already identified me as the type of player she wanted in her program.

The next challenge was spending several months as the only commit in my class while the new staff identified other prospective student athletes to add. My friends and family supported my decision and reassured me that the staff would find the right players to round out their 2022 class and everything eventually fell into place. For the next summer and fall season I was confident in my decision and continued to play and get better. My summer ended with a PGF National Championship!

Now, after signing my NLI and being only a few months away from my four years at Tech I can confidently say that, although my recruitment process was a little rocky, I wouldn’t change it for the world. It taught me many different things about myself and allowed me to overcome all kinds of adversity. We all have different stories, some crazier than others, but at the end of the day we all have one goal we hope to achieve.

To all the people that read my journey, I hope that it can be a testimony to truly making your collegiate choice based on more than just one aspect of a program. The decision truly should be made based on your comfortability with the actual university (campus), your chosen degree and the coaching staff that will help you navigate your athletic journey. Always believe that no matter how hard things may get, you can do it. Don’t give up and believe in yourself!

—#8 Dee McClarity